Interesting update: "The U.S. military is sending a dozen F-16 fighter jets to Poland, Polish media reported, as the U.S. Navy announced it is
sending a guided-missile destroyer to the Black Sea as part of a "scheduled" deployment -- amid mounting tensions over Russia's Crimea invasion.
Six F-15s landed in Lithuania, along with two K-135 refueling tankers, as part of that effort on Thursday morning. The F-16s were reportedly being
sent as part of an additional wave of assistance. The USS Truxtun will be detaching from the USS George W. Bush strike group, currently in the
Mediterranean."

I have a friend in Poland who told me yesterday that there are more US fighters in Poland right now. He did not seem to feel threatened by it and
thought that it could help prevent the conflict from threatening Poland (and I hope that his interpretation is correct).

I live in Poland, there is no panic or anything. There will be 12 additional F-16 and 300 US Soldiers shipped to our country.. Not that much .. Yes we
did invoke the 4th but its more a political play than any serious threat at this moment.. As it is now, its more scare tactics than really any
danger..

A single destroyer? Not a big deal. And BTW a "guided missile destroyer" is the only kind in the US arsenal these days. In any case, it is subject
to the Montreux Convention, which says, among other things, that a non-Black Sea country"

* can pass warships, but the aggregate displacement of the foreign warships in the Black Sea may not exceed 45.000 tons.

* cannot hold their ships in the Black Sea longer than 21 days.

* cannot have more than 9 ships in the Black Sea at the same time

* can pass their warships through Turkish Straits by notifying Turkey through diplomatic channels 15 days before the passage.

An Arleigh-Burke, at less than 10,000 tons, easily passes the displacement test, but the fact that a single destroyer is there makes no real
difference in anything at all. an you imagine a scenario where a single destroyer would launch its cruise missiles at anything in the Black Sea?
Without air support? Without any other ships around at all? A Burke can "work alone," but its forte is working in conjunction with at least three
other destroyers using the Aegis defense system. All this is just for show and is not fooling anyone, especially Putin.

The Convention also shows why reports of the Bush entering the Black Sea. That would be a major treaty violation.

It's all just idiotic political games. Nobody is threatening Poland, Russia is not making a takeover of any countries or invading anyone, and the
reporting is all just typical political and MSM BS to perpetuate the nasty ol' commies myth!

In fact, the only ones throwing their weight around, as usual, are the US and NATO, with no threat to any of them or NATO members.

Never miss an opportunity to create a drama though as it takes peoples minds off the real issues at home.

They have no choice. The convention demands it. It's just a formality. It's called the Bosphorus Strait, which divides Istanbul in half and also
divides the continent of Europe from the continent of Asia. Here's a picture of it:

Britguy
It's all just idiotic political games. Nobody is threatening Poland, Russia is not making a takeover of any countries or invading anyone, and the
reporting is all just typical political and MSM BS to perpetuate the nasty ol' commies myth!

In fact, the only ones throwing their weight around, as usual, are the US and NATO, with no threat to any of them or NATO members.

Never miss an opportunity to create a drama though as it takes peoples minds off the real issues at home.

At last we have the one person on the planet who does not think the "mystery" forces that moved in and occupied the Crimea are not Russian.

As for the OP, as Poland and the Baltic states (along with all the countries on Russia's borders) have a long history of being invaded by Russia they
of course have every right to call upon NATO to reming the Russians those days are over. Georgia and Ukraine were targets because they were not a
part of NATO, Poland and the Baltics want to make it clear they are no longer targets.

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